Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum, a suburb of Saint Petersburg.
He grew up in Saint Petersburg. Allthough he was passionate
about music his parents made him study law in 1901, but in 1902
he stayed with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in Heidelberg who suggested
that he should take private music lessons.

He continued
his studies umtil 1905 but in that hear he started studying
with Rimski-Korsakov until his death 1908. In 1905 he had married
his cousin Yekaterina Gavrilovna Nosenko and they had two children.

In
1909 two of his works were performed in Saint Petersburg and
in 1910 "The Firebird" was an instant succes after its premiere
in Paris by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Stravinsky took
up residence in Clarens in Switzerland, spending the summers
in Russia. In 1913 his famous "Le Sacre du printemps " was first
performed. In 1915 the family moved from Clarens to Morges near
Lausanne. In 1916 his theatrical work "Renard" was first performed.
It had been commissioned by Winaretta Singer.

In 1920
he moved to Paris. In 1921 he met Vera de Bosset, the wife of
the painter Serge Sudeikin. They started an affair that resulted
in Vera leaving her husband. Stravinsky and his wife moved to
Anglet mear Biarritz in that year. In 1924 he bought a house
in Nice. In 1934 they moved to Paris. From 1921 until Katya's
death in 1939 he led a double life, seeing Vera in Paris.

In
1939 he went to the USA alone to deliver lectures at Harvard.
Vera followed him early in 1940 and they were married in Bedford,
Massachusetts. They settled in West Hollywood. In 1951 he completed
his opera "The Rake's Progress".

He moved to Essex
House in New York in 1969. In that city he died of heart failure
in 1971. He was buried in Venice not far from Sergei Diaghilev.